The Defiant had been first designed in 2366, as a new ship to fight the threat of the Borg. The ship had been built but the receding Borg threat, numerous flaws and the fact that it almost tore itself apart during test cruises, convinced Starfleet to put the project on hold. Benjamin Sisko became involved in the project after transfering to the Utopia Planitia Fleet Yards after the destruction of the Saratoga at Wolf 359.

The Defiant was taken out of storage and assigned to Deep Space 9 in early 2371 to protect the station from the threat of the Dominion, who had destroyed the USS Odyssey, a Galaxy classstarship, a few weeks before. The ship was granted special dispensation to install and operate a cloaking device contributed by the Romulans. In 'payment', Starfleet would share with them all information the Defiant discovered about the Dominion on its missions into the Gamma Quadrant. The agreement also stipulated that the cloaking device was only to be used in the Gamma Quadrant. The Romulans were unsatisfied with the information the Defiant brought back but allowed the cloaking device to remain. (DS9: "The Search, Part I", "Visionary")

Contents

History

The USS Defiant departs Deep Space Nine.

Soon after its arrival at DS9, the Defiant entered the Gamma Quadrant, on a mission to open negotiations with the Founders of the Dominion. The starship came under attack by several Jem'Hadarships and was boarded. The senior officers were taken to the Founders' homeworld and placed in a simulation by the Vorta, Borath. Once Odo and Kira Nerys found them, the Founders allowed them to return home. (DS9: "The Search, Part II")

During an exploration mission in the Gamma Quadrant the Defiant discovered the planet Meridian on its first appearance in the primary universe since 2311. (DS9: "Meridian")

Later, the ship was stolen by members of the Maquis, lead by Thomas Riker, posing as his twin William Riker, who used it to attack several Cardassian targets. The ship was severely threatened by several Obsidian Order's Keldon-class warships. Having narrowly escaped, it would be protected by the Galor-class warship, Kraxon, until the Obsidian Order threat was nullified and for Riker to surrender to. Major Kira then took the Defiant to the Demilitarized Zone to rendezvous with another Federation starship to transfer the remainder of the Maquis for arrest. (DS9: "Defiant")

The Defiant transported the senior staff of DS9 to Earth for a conference on the Gamma Quadrant. The Defiant was the ship chosen for a joint Federation-Cardassian-Bajoran project to send and receive messages to and from the Gamma Quadrant. (DS9: "Destiny")

The Defiant fought its way through Cardassian space to rescued members of the Cardassian Detapa Council in 2372 during the Second Federation-Klingon War. (DS9: "The Way of the Warrior")
During a meeting with a Karemma ship the Defiant was forced into a planet's atmosphere by the Jem'Hadar where it was severely damaged and many of its crew injured. The Defiant was able to destroy the Jem'Hadar ships and rescue the Karemma. (DS9: "Starship Down")
The Defiant, under the command of Lieutenant CommanderWorf travelled to Earth to assist Captain Sisko in suppressing a plot that would seize control of Earth from the President of the Federation. The Defiant was attacked by the USS Lakota, who believed the ship's crew had been replaced by shapeshifters. Both ships were damaged but both stood down before either could be destroyed. (DS9: "Paradise Lost")

After obtaining the detonation codes for a minefield the Klingons were deploying around the Bajoran system, the Defiant was used to detonate the entire minefield. (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")

Finding life difficult aboard DS9 much different to that of a starship, Worf decided to live aboard the Defiant. (DS9: "Bar Association")

Later that year, again under of the command of Worf, the Defiant was escorting several Cardassian freighters when they were attacked by the Klingons. The Defiant accidently destroyed a Klingon civilian tranport, that was later determined to be empty and a Klingon ruse to bring Worf back to Qo'noS. (DS9: "Rules of Engagement")

The Defiant later followed a rebel Jem'Hadar strike team that had attacked DS9 into the Gamma Quadrant. After rescuing more Jem'Hadar from the rebels, the two crews worked together to destroy an Iconian gateway, that the rogue Jem'Hadar had captured. (DS9: "To the Death")

Several weeks later, the Defiant took an ill Odo back to his people where he was 'judged' and changed into a solid. Elim Garak attempted to destroy the Great Link using the Defiant's weapons. He was stopped by Worf and sentenced to six months in a holding cell. (DS9: "Broken Link")

Later, the Defiant captured a Jem'Hadar ship and brought it back to the Federation for study. (DS9: "The Ship")

While pursuing the Maquis traitor Michael Eddington, the Defiant was disabled by a cascade virus that Eddington had planted in its computer systems. The ship was towed back to Deep Space Nine by the USS Malinche. After the Maquis attacked the Malinche, Sisko took the damaged Defiant after Eddington and stopped after after poisoning a Maquis planet and threatening to poison more. (DS9: "For the Uniform") Several weeks later, the Defiant destroyed a runabout that had been stolen by a Founder and equipped with a bomb that was to be detonated in the Bajoran sun, thus destroying the entire system. (DS9: "By Inferno's Light")

When Deep Space Five detected a Borg cube on a direct course for Earth, the Defiant, under the command of Worf, joined a Starfleet task force that was assembled in the Typhon sector to stop the cube. Unsuccessful in stopping the cube at Typhon, the task force fought a running battle with the Borg to Earth. Worf was about to order a suicide run against the cube but the Enterprise-E arrived. The Defiant began to lose life support and its crew were beamed aboard the Enterprise. The Defiant crew later travelled back in time with the Enterprise crew to the year 2063, following a Borg sphere that had changed the timeline. After stopping the Borg, the crew travelled back to 2373. The Defiant was repaired and returned to Deep Space Nine. (Star Trek: First Contact)

After a salvage operation to Empok Nor went awry, the Defiant rescued O'Brien, Nog and Garak from the station. (DS9: "Empok Nor")

In late 2373, the Defiant was used to deploy a minefield near the Bajoran wormhole to stop more Dominion ships from entering the Alpha Quadrant. After a Dominion attack and takeover of DS9, the Defiant evacuated all Federation citizens from the station. (DS9: "Call to Arms")

The ship was used in Operation Return, to reclaim DS9 and stop the Dominion from the dismantling the minefield and bringing in its reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant. After failing to stop the Dominion from destroying the minefield, the Defiant entered the wormhole in a vain attempt to stop the Dominion reinforcements. Captain Sisko convinced the Prophets to intervene and they destroyed the Dominion ships. They also made the wormhole impassable. (DS9: "Favor the Bold", "Sacrifice of Angels")

Whilst en route to Gul Dukat's war crimes trial, the USS Honshu was destroyed by the Cardassians. The Defiant and the USS Constellation spent many days searching. The Defiant was about to leave the area when Dukat sent a message to the ship, informing them of Sisko's location. (DS9: "Waltz")

Several months after the Federation retook DS9, the Defiant itself was captured by the Jem'Hadar on a scientific mission. The Defiant was reclaimed, with the help of a runabout that had been shrunk to only a few inches long. (DS9: "One Little Ship")

Several weeks later the Defiant rescued the survivors of its sister ship the Valiant, that had been destroyed by the Dominion. (DS9: "Valiant")

Background information

Early drafts of the script of Star Trek: First Contact suggested that the Defiant was to be destroyed in the Battle of Sector 001. In the DVD commentary for the film, First Contact co-writer and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine producer Ronald D. Moore said that Deep Space Nine's Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr had seen the script and objected to the needless destruction of his ship in a story that didn't even involve the Deep Space Nine characters (apart from Worf). It would also prove to be inconvenient for the television show, so the Defiant was eventually allowed to survive the battle, and a line suggesting that the Defiant was "adrift, but salvagable" was added to clear up any ambiguity. No reference to the damage the Defiant received during the battle was ever made on Deep Space Nine.

See also

External Links

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